Wayne State Athletes With an Eye for Pink

When someone is given a breast cancer diagnosis, they don’t normally think about football, or volleyball, or swimming. In fact it is highly unlikely that they would think of any college sport. This season, however, athletes at Wayne State University in Detroit were thinking about women and men who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and going through treatment. These talented athletes combined their efforts to raise awareness about the disease and money for The Pink Fund, an organization that provides financial support to people going through breast cancer treatment.

For the third year in a row, the Wayne State football players proudly accented their trademark green and gold uniforms with bright pink laces, gloves, shoes, and armbands. Many of these items were purchased by the players at their own expense. With the cheer squad sporting pink pom-poms and ribbons, as well as the marching band, the field during these past few home games was ablaze with pink! The volleyball team, swim team, and baseball players, among others, also got in the game by working among the cheering crowd to raise money for The Pink Fund. During their respective competitions, these highly trained athletes sported pink to highlight breast cancer throughout October as well. It’s hard not to be inspired.

Football and pink has now become an October tradition. In 2011, the Michigan State legislature declared October officially Breast Cancer Awareness month, but for Wayne State it was only a formality as this college had already taken the lead in sporting pink. Homecoming was a way to showcase their combined efforts and truly demonstrate the same commitment Warrior athletes have to this huge issue as they take to their competitions.

As a stage 3 breast cancer survivor, the disease still poses a threat to me. I am more disturbed, however, by the threat breast cancer still poses to the future of young college athletes and students. With one in eight women being diagnosed each year, their moms, aunts, and grandmoms are at risk. Without a cure their future families and selves are at risk. If our current generation doesn’t stop breast cancer, this disease will threaten our nation for generations to come.

The WSU Warrior Football Team proved they were champions last season when they took to the road to fight their way to the championship game. They continue to champion the cause against breast cancer with noble determination, while focused on winning games. If even one woman in the stands was encouraged to get screened for breast cancer and is diagnosed early, then they have won something even more important than a football game. And if the money raised by promotions and sales by the other athletes takes some stress off of a breast cancer patient, then great strides are truly being made.

Wearing pink and raising money is what Warrior athletes are doing to fight the disease today. If we all continue to fight together, maybe these college students won’t face breast cancer in their future.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN

Kathy-Ellen is a Registered Nurse living in Michigan. In 2003, Kathy-Ellen was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. She was cancer-free from April 2004 until December of 2013 when it was discovered that...read more